HTC and virtual realty

1. HTC and virtual realty

The protagonist, CEO Cher Wang, had to decide how to position HTC for long-term success in the nascent virtual realty (VR) market in September 2017. The Taiwanese consumer electronics company HTC was flush with cash to compete in VR, having just sold off part of its traditional smartphone business to Google for $1.1B. Up to this point, Wang and HTC engaged in a comprehensive strategy to compete in all dimensions of the VR ecosystem – hardware, software platform, and content – while partnering with Valve and others in an effort to legitimize the product category as a whole. However, even as VR sales continued to be low, HTC faced increased competition from Facebook, Sony, Samsung, Google, and other much larger players who also believed in the potential of the market.

Wand had to balance her strategy between building the category as a whole vs. fending off competitors in the short run. Should she build on HTC’s traditional strength in hardware and focus on offering VR hardware products for different segments of the VR markets? Or should she pursue a more balanced approach, and shift even more focus towards the VR software platform or the VR content? She has approached you for advice and examine the situation in the light of strategic management theories related to industry change and competitive dynamics and come with the appropriate recommendations.

The PPT is about industry change and competitive dynamics.